PA/Fatah encourage terror: Use “all possible means to defend our land”
Abbas’ Fatah deputy encourages terror: “You can use all possible means to defend our land”
Abbas’ advisor promises use of terror: “We will continue this battle with all possible and efficient means”
Abbas’ advisor: Terror is permitted by “the religious and divine laws and by the international norms and laws”
Former PA Prime Minister endorsed terror against Israel as “a right and a duty”
The Palestinian lexicon is rich in terms for terror. Words that sound innocent are known by everyone to imply terror, for example: “resistance” and “struggle with all means.” (See below.) The terrorists themselves are referred to as “members of the resistance,” “self-sacrificing fighters” and - when they get killed – as “Martyrs.”
Using the terms “popular resistance,” “resistance members” and the use of “all means,” PA Chairman Abbas’ Fatah deputy Mahmoud Al-Aloul encouraged Palestinians to continue with terror to “defend the land”:
Fatah Deputy Chairman Mahmoud Al-Aloul: “All the greetings on your [Ramallah residents’] behalf to our beloved prisoners… Also all the greetings to the popular resistance (i.e., includes using violence and terror) … We say to the world on their behalf and on your behalf that we will defend our land. And we say to the resistance members (i.e., terrorists) – you can use all possible means to defend your land… Yes, this is our position as a Palestinian people.”
[Official PA TV, May 15, 2024]
Just six weeks after Hamas’ massacre and murder of over 1,000 Israelis in the most lethal terror attack in Israel’s history, PA Chairman Abbas’ advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash used one of the “innocent” terms – “battle with all possible means” - to vow that terror will continue:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “We are not in a temporary or limited battle against the occupation (i.e., Israel; refers to the 2023 Gaza war). Our battle is a battle of freedom, a battle of liberation from the occupation, and we will continue this battle with all possible and efficient means (i.e., includes use of violence and terror) to get rid of the occupation.”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Nov. 22, 2023]
A few days earlier, Al-Habbash claimed that Allah legitimizes terror – referred to as “resistance” - as it is “anchored in all the religious and divine laws” as well as in “all the international norms and laws”:
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “The continuation of the occupation (i.e., Israel) will lead to a response. And the Palestinian response is the resistance to this occupation (i.e., Israel), resolve against it, and using all the legal meansto get rid of it. This is our legal right that is anchored in all the religious and divine laws and in all the international norms and laws. We will continue this struggle until we get rid of the occupation.”
[PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Facebook page, Nov. 17, 2023]
Around the same time, the legislative body of the PLO – The Palestinian National Council – also stressed that Palestinians have a right to use terror according to international law:
“The [Palestinian] National Council (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO) said: ‘The occupation’s (i.e., Israel’s) massacres and its criminal acts against our Palestinian people wherever it is, and especially in the Gaza Strip (refers to Israeli counter-terror operation against Hamas’ terror war on Israel; see note below -Ed.), will only increase our determination to continue the struggle with all means (i.e., Palestinian term that also refers to the use of violence and terror)… We say to the occupation that the massacres that it has committed and is still committing will not dissuade our people from continuing its struggle and resistance to the occupation, colonialism, and settler enterprise, with all its forms that are anchored in all the international laws.’
[The PNC] emphasized that resistance, self-defense, and struggle against the occupier are a legitimate right anchored in the international laws, until liberation and independence.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 14, 2023]
A statement by Al-Habbash from before the October 7 terror attack shows that indeed the current war is just an expression of the ongoing battle against Israel. Palestinian Media Watch has documented for decades that the PA/Fatah endorse, encourage and carry out terror against Israel to “liberate” Palestine.
“Al-Habbash emphasized that our people is determined to stand firm and resist the occupation by all means (i.e., Palestinian term that also refers to the use of violence and terror) until it leaves, regardless of the sacrifices.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Sept. 17, 2023]
When Israel killed Hamas terror leader Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri in Lebanon in January 2024, then PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh endorsed him by asking for “mercy” for him and “the Martyrs” – i.e., terrorists, thereby approving and sanctioning terror as a legitimate way to fight Israel:
PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh: “When tyranny is a fact, rebellion against the tyranny is a duty. The Israeli tyranny is a fact, and the struggle (i.e., terror) against this tyranny is a right and duty. Mercy on the Martyrs who fell, and mercy on Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri (i.e., Hamas terror leader), whom the [Israeli] criminals assassinated in Beirut yesterday [Jan. 2, 2024].”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Jan. 3, 2024]
On the same occasion, Fatah’s Shabiba Student Movement also expressed support for terror, stating they would “continue [the] path” of Hamas terror leader Al-Arouri and that they “salute all forms of resistance against this occupier.” [The Fatah Shabiba Student Movement and Student Union Council at Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie, Facebook page, Jan. 2, 2024]
Peaceful\popular uprising/resistance
In a statement for the 35th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the State of Palestine (see note below -Ed.), the National Council emphasized: ‘On this lauded day, we say to the occupation that the massacres that it has committed and is still committing will not dissuade our people from continuing its struggle and resistance to the occupation, colonialism, and settler enterprise, with all its forms that are anchored in all the international laws.’
It called on our people to stand firm, to set out against the crimes of the occupation and its colonialist settlers, and to cooperate in the unusual and critical conditions that our Palestinian cause is in. It also called on all the Palestinians – forces, factions, layers, and groups in the society – to unite under the umbrella of the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of our Palestinian people…
It emphasized that resistance, self-defense, and struggle against the occupier are a legitimate right anchored in the international laws, until liberation and independence.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 14, 2023]
The picture shows Hamas terror leader Saleh Al-Arouri, who was assassinated by Israel in Lebanon on Jan. 2, 2024, during the 2023 Gaza war – see note below.
Posted text: “In the name of All Merciful Allah
From the barrels of your rifles the flags of inevitable freedom illuminated, and from your pure blood the lamps of our path to the homeland were lit. Glory to you among the immortals, and it remains to us to continue your path and carry out your instructions.
Our student colleagues and sisters, as always and at every stage and point, the [Fatah] Shabiba Student Movement and Student Union Council at [Palestine Technical] University – Kadoorie present the most spectacular expressions of solidarity with our people against the occupation’s (i.e., Israel’s) acts of oppression. Those who defended the sanctity of their university, their prisoners, and their Martyrs will not be deterred to stand alongside those who sacrificed their lives to defend the honor of this cause. We salute all forms of resistance against this occupier (i.e., Palestinian term that also refers to the use of violence and terror).”
[The Fatah Shabiba Student Movement and Student Union Council at Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie, Facebook page, Jan. 2, 2024]